PS4 Midnight launch: From pickup to play in just under an hour.

Before I discuss how it all happened, big credit goes to Gamestop in Largo, MD for the most organized, smoothest and secure launches I have ever been to. Thanks for getting us in and out and safely back to our cars.

Yesterday, I went to Gamestop to pick up any games and accessories needed as my pre-order had already been paid for several weeks prior. The manager at the store had told me to come back at 6pm to get my number in line as the only PS4s they were releasing at midnight were just those that were already paid for. I came back at 6pm, and I got number 15, which meant no matter what time I came back, that was my place in line.

Customers wait for their numbers

As this particular Gamestop was 5 minutes away from my home, I left at 11:50, arrived and parked at 11:55 and was in line at 11:58. They let people in 3 at a time, checked receipts, handed them their system and it was done. The line moved fast and I was out by at least 12:10 and back home around 12:15.

#15 was number 1 – He was out here since 7am yesterday morning waiting to get one. Ironically my number in line was …15

Here is the line

Everything about setting up the PS4 was simple. In less than 10 minutes the system was hooked up and on and I had no problems with the HDMI cables or the power cord. Once the system was connected to the internet the ‘dreaded’ 300mb update was ready to begin.

And guess what? It was quick and painless!! It took 2 minutes for the update to download and another 5 minutes for it to install and reboot my system. By now it was just after 12:35 am.

Sorry for the blurry pic but the install was just that fast!!!

After another 5 or 10 minutes of doing the initial setup, the PS4 was ready to go and the longest part of doing the setup which I canceled until this morning was getting my PSN account logged back in, which at that point I think it was just an issue with the server but it went straight through this morning.

The initial menus

At 12:45 am, I was playing FIFA 14.

I have to say, the system itself is very sleek and blends right in to my cabinet and does a much better job than my PS3 did. In fact the profile is so small, you hardly notice that it’s there. You would also notice that the machine does have some weight to it and it doesn’t feel flimsy.

The new Dualshock 4 controllers are comfortable and I do like the design change as it accommodates my large hands and feels more natural and of course it will take some getting used to the “Options” button which replaces the “Start” button.

I did try out the Remote Play aspect this morning and once you get it up and running it works. A piece of advice however is this; if you have issues connecting upon the initial setup, completely shut down your PS Vita. As a matter for fact, I would say do it BEFORE setting it up. Leave it off for about 5 minutes and then turn it back on. Once you connect it should be smooth. I played a quick FIFA 14 game this morning and even scaled down on the Vita it is excellent, the controls are very responsive with very little lag. The screen does hiccup occasionally and I hope that as time goes by with updates, it works seamlessly but finally I can take my game to other parts of the house!!!

As I did not have time to sample all of the games, FIFA 14 does show what is to come with a little extra polish. I will review that along with several others and hope to have something posted Sunday or Monday.

But for now, I am satisfied not only with the purchase but the ease of set up as well as the excellent customer service!!

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Armand is a husband, father, and life long comics fan. A devoted fan of Batman and the Valiant Universe he loves writing for PCU, when he's not running his mouth on the PCU podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @armandmhill

I was very curious to see what kind of buzz there was for this as I hadn’t heard from many people they were getting one any time soon. I’ll be interested in reading the rest of your reviews on it.

Still may take me a while to get one as I’m still in the middle of too many great PS3 games including WWE’2K14, Arkham Origins, Resident Evil 6 and Maxx Payne 3. Guess it pays to take a long time playing games 😉

I agree, there are still many games to be played and honestly, I am disappointed that there is not ‘killer title’ to be had. I think Watchdogs was supposed to be it but we all know what happened. So, with what is out, we will find out. Thanks for replying.